Taiwan, China banking talks moved back

By Crystal Hsu / Staff Reporter

Taiwan and China will hold semi-annual talks over advancement of cross-strait banking ties in Taipei in the second half of the year, rather than in the first half as planned, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said yesterday.

The announcement came after FSC Chairman Chen Yuh-chang (陳裕璋) met with his Chinese counterpart, Shang Fulin (尚福林), in Beijing on the sidelines of the International Organization of Securities Commissions’ annual meeting.

The two sides reached consensus to speed up the review of applications by bilateral banks to expand in their markets, to pursue an agreement to expedite offshore wealth management services and to relax definitions of Taiwanese companies based in China, the commission said.

Local lenders have pressed for easier reviews so they can catch up with foreign competitors in the Chinese market.

“The two sides agree to the feasibility of a memorandum of understanding over offshore wealth management operations and will set up a window of contact to handle the issue,” the commission said.

The move was in line with Premier Sean Chen's (陳冲) plan to develop special cross-strait financial businesses.

Furthermore, bilateral regulators agreed to continue discussion over the definition of Taiwanese firms, the FSC said.

Local banks have called for looser applications to allow their branches in China a broader customer base.

Under current rules, Taiwanese banks may start to provide yuan financing to Taiwanese firms in China one year after they set up branches there and prove profitable.

The commission did not elaborate on the precise timing of the banking talks.